Responsibilities
by Dysthymia
Summary: Dick Grayson gets more responsibilities than he knows how to deal with. First chapter is very smutty.
1. Chapter 1

Nightwing felt soft lips against his. He eagerly returned the kiss, even though he told himself he'd barely met the woman he was kissing, but she smelled so good. He was hard. He found himself pressing himself against her. Nightwing ground his hips against her when she raised a leg to wrap around him.

She groaned, moving her head back.

He wanted to make love to her right then and there, but they were in an alley. A dirty alley. Nightwing lifted her into his arms and went off with her.

* * *

Dick Grayson's apartment.

He knew it might be a mistake to bring a woman he hardly knew to his apartment, but it was the first place he thought of.

He laid her down on the bed. "What's your name?" he asked as he pulled her panties down and off.

"Olivia," she answered as Nightwing hiked up her skirt.

He liked the way her name sounded coming from her throat. He said her name once, just to hear himself say it before bending his head to the juncture between her thighs.

Olivia moaned as Nightwing licked her.

Both were breathing heavily when he finally entered her. He pushed his way in slowly. She moaned beneath him. He began to build up speed, producing a rhythm. He didn't know how long they'd been at it when he felt himself starting to climax. "Olivia," he said, hooking his arms under her knees. "I'm going to come..."

She picked up her pace while he picked up his. He grunted when he came.

"Wow..." he said."That was...fantastic!"

Olivia continued to breathe heavily beneath him. "Kiss me," she said.

Dick bent down and kissed her passionately.

Soon, he wondered why he was still hard. "Olivia...I... Can we do it again? Now?"

Olivia bit her lip.

"What is it? Did I hurt you in some way?"

"I should have told you I have a disorder."

"A disorder?" His cock stayed hard, even though he told it to stay down.

"I have an augmented sex drive. My body puts out far too many pheromones when I ovulate."

Nightwing frowned. "How...How did that happen?"

"I'm the result of a eugenics experiment. Normally, my medication..."

He stroked her auburn hair as he waited for her to finish. He tried to ignore what his penis told him.

"It must not be working anymore..." she finally said.

He took a deep breath. "Ok. Is this going down any time soon?" he allowed his cock to press against her gently.

"Not as far as I know."

He nodded. "Tell me, how many men were you with before me?"

She frowned at him. "None. I managed to stay a virgin until tonight thanks to my medication."

Nightwing was silent for a minute.

"What do you want to do? I might be able to find an area that you can be quarantined in, if you want." He knew his cock was throbbing painfully, still pressed against her.

Her hand hesitantly touched his throbbing member. "Only if I'm going to be quarantined with you."

He debated the ethics of this for half a second before pressing himself into her again.

* * *

Olivia could feel Nightwing pounding vigorously into her for the fifth time since she'd informed him of her medical condition.

By now she realized she could tell when he was about to climax. "Dick..." she moaned, arching her back. At some point, he'd told her to start calling him Dick. "Oh, God, Dick..." Olivia screamed when he slammed into her, his seed spilling into her yet again.

He stayed still for a minute, panting. "I...I think I should give you a rest. Make you some breakfast or something," he said. He pulled out of her, her legs fell to the bed limply. Dick grabbed a blanket and covered her so she couldn't get cold.

Dick brought in a tray after about fifteen minutes. Olivia almost went to look for him. She could see his member trying to poke through his boxers.

He smiled. "We can do that later. We need to eat unless we want to pass out."

She started eating, but when he sat next to her, she started to stroke him.

"Eat your food."

"I think I can eat and do this at the same time..."

He pulled her hand away. "Eat now. Grab later. Ok?"

* * *

Three days later

Dick let Olivia sleep. She had to be tired. He made a call.

"Dr. Thompkins, its Dick Grayson. Can I talk to you about something?"

It took longer than he thought to explain everything to Leslie.

She came over to examine Olivia.

"She needs a lot of rest," Dr. Thompkins said, washing her hands off.

"Well, I know that!" Dick said.

"The two of you really shouldn't have done it."

Dick turned red. "I know, Leslie."

"This might be a good time to take responsibility for your actions, Dick."

"Are you seriously going to lecture me about who I sleep with? I'm a grown man, Leslie!"

"It's very likely that you may have gotten her pregnant."

This caused Dick to be quiet while Dr. Thompkins railed at him about his responsibility in the matter.


	2. Chapter 2

Olivia tried to sit up in bed, hearing Dr. Thompkins lecturing Dick. She didn't like it. What place was it of hers if she got pregnant? That would be between her and Dick.

When she tried to stand up, she plopped back down on the bed. It hurt to try to stand. She rubbed her belly and thighs, which hurt badly.

"Can you even tell yet?" she heard Dick demand. "It's a little too early to tell, right?"

"Of course it's too early to tell right now, but you need to face reality!" Dr. Thompkins shot back.

Dick looked out the bathroom door and saw Olivia trying to get up again. He ran out to stop her from falling flat on her ass.

"Don't mention this to Bruce," he mouthed at Leslie.

Dr. Thompkins gave him an exasperated look. "You know I don't divulge my patient's medical information. I'm going to be back in a three weeks to check on Olivia."

"Here?"

"Would you prefer to bring her into the clinic?"

"I guess not," Dick mumbled.

* * *

Olivia ended up staying at Dick's place for the next three weeks, deciding they'd figure out what they were doing after that. He'd took her to her place to get some things.

It didn't surprise her much that Dick thought she wouldn't see him take a peek as she ransacked her underwear drawer and collected up her sleepwear. Didn't men always want to know what women wore to bed?

* * *

Three weeks later, Olivia found herself submitting to another examination by Dr. Thompkins. She'd had to take a pregnancy test, even though Dick had had her take a home pregnancy test a few days before.

Olivia wondered if Dick had already told Dr. Thompkins the test was positive. Especially when she heard Dick ask Dr. Thompkins if she needed a special diet. He seriously thought she couldn't hear?

"I can hear!" she called out, just to prove a point.

Dick flushed. "Sorry..."

* * *

Dick frowned after Dr. Thompkins left. He suddenly felt like someone was watching them. Just as suddenly, the feeling was gone.

He poked his head into the bedroom, where Olivia was still getting dressed, taking her sweet time. He was about to speak when he noticed her adjusting her breasts inside her bra. His jaw dropped.

"Stop staring."

Dick closed his mouth. "Sorry. I...uh..."

"You what?" she asked.

"I forgot." His eyes studied her. He hadn't had much chance to really look at her when they'd had sex three weeks ago.

"You're staring again."

"Sorry," he repeated again.

Olivia put started to put on her shirt, but Dick was suddenly, kissing her. "What? What's with you?"

Dick's fingers traced from her neck down to her breasts and then her belly. He hand stopped. He looked into her eyes earnestly. "You're having my baby."

"I haven't even decided if I'm going to have it," Olivia said, pushing him off her.

"What?" he looked at her as if she'd said the most hurtful thing ever to be said to him.

"Think about it. What kind of parents would we be? Me with a sex disorder and you being a costumed vigilante."

"I'm the father! Don't I get a say in this?"

"I'm the one sitting here with a parasite inside me, Dick."

"A...a parasite!" Dick exclaimed. "It's a baby!"

"It's...a tadpole. I'm going to go home now. Are you driving me home, or do I have to call a cab?"

Dick looked at her glumly. "I can't stand by while you have my child killed."

"It's not a child at this point. It's...a little parasitic ball sitting in my uterus. I'm the wrong person to be having a baby. How could I possibly hope to have a baby if I go wild every month? I can't look after a baby if that goes on all the time. Thanks for helping me make up my mind. I guess I'll have to call a cab."

"I can't just let you abort it."

"You have to. I do know the law. You can't stop me from it. I'm going home. I'm getting an abortion and then I'm going to get sterilized so this can't happen again."

* * *

Two weeks later

It was agony for him to know what was going to happen. He was torn between trying to stop her and letting it happen for her peace of mind.

Dick managed to find out when she planned to get the abortion. He arrived at the clinic shortly after she did. He sat in his car, not sure he should go inside in a last ditch attempt to stop her.

Within fifteen minutes, she was back outside, tapping his window. He rolled it down.

"I can't do it. I hope you're happy," she said.

Dick straightened up in his seat. "You're...you're going to have it?"

"Don't get excited. I'm not keeping it."

Dick didn't like this. "You want to adopt it out? I'm not signing the papers."

"I'm certainly not keeping it, Dick. I would be among the worst of mothers." She lowered her voice, "and your lifestyle is the wrong one for taking care of a baby, isn't it?"

"I can't let someone else raise him, Olivia."

"I'm the one pushing this thing out in eight months."

"That doesn't change anything! You have to have the consent of both parents to adopt it out!"

"I can always get a court order."

"You wouldn't... People can't know that... They can't know what I do."

"Then start being reasonable! I'm protecting it. You don't get that? You're a costumed vigilante and I have mad scientists hunting for me."

Dick shut his mouth, frowning. He should have thought of that before trying to change her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day

"What the hell are you doing here for?" Olivia asked.

"Um...brining you flowers..." Dick said.

"What for? We're not dating."

"It's...kind of an apology. For trying to change your mind."

"Don't be stupid, Dick. You can't apologize for being an asshole."

Dick winced. "Ouch."

"You were being an asshole, deal with it."

Suddenly, Dick kissed her.

Olivia smacked him. "You don't get to do that."

"I had a lot of time to think since I met you, Olivia. I can't stop thinking about you."

"That's because you're thinking about our little parasite."

"I thought about you all the time before we found out you were pregnant!"

"You still thought about it, Dick."

"I want to marry you."

Olivia looked at Dick sharply. "No you don't. You want an instant family. I'm not giving that to you or to anyone else. I'll never get married. Any husband I'd ever have would want me to have a bunch of kids. I'd be a walking incubator until I dried out."

"That is NOT what I want."

"Tell yourself that before you try to tell me that."

"I got you a ring," Dick blurted. "I have it with me."

She held up a hand. "No. You're not doing that. Absolutely not."

"But-"

"No. Just because we...heeded a call of nature together does not mean I know you well enough to even consider marrying you. Hell, I don't even know you well enough to consider dating you."

"Olivia, I-"

"You're only the father because you kept me from getting raped by someone who was affected by my hormone output."

"Olivia, could you stop talking like that? I looked into your medical condition; I know that the pheromones only work on both people if there is an attraction on both sides. Obviously, there is an attraction on both sides, because you willingly had sex with me."

"That doesn't mean I know you well enough! Go home."

"But-"

"I said to go home!" She pushed him out the door and shut it in his face. When she turned around, she saw that the flowers had been left behind on her kitchen table, along with a ring.

Olivia growled and pushed them off the table. The ring clattered to the floor and the roses scattered.

"Olivia," Dick said through the door. "Please-"

She opened the door and moved to slap him, but Dick caught her hand easily.

"Why do you keep pushing me away?" he asked, searching her violet colored eyes. "I...I want to be involved with my child's life, Olivia. You don't know how much it hurts me that you keep pushing me away like this."

"Well, then you know how much it hurt me for you to try to keep me from doing what I thought should be done, don't you? You have no idea what it's like to be told my body essentially is not my own. Getting an abortion is the only means of control I had!"

"You weren't really going to do it, were you? You made that appointment for show, right? You were going to make me think you'd had an abortion and then leave town, but you couldn't even do that. Is it just because you're scared? Or do you have another reason for it?"

Olivia glared at him. "Don't ever accuse me of that!"

Dick had been glaring at her, but now his expression softened. "You have no idea how I feel about you. I could forgive you for anything." His other hand went up to her face. He rubbed her cheek softly with his thumb.

"Yet you act like I'm a heartless bitch because it's what you really think."

"Hey, there's no need for that. I know nothing was planned. I... Ok, I acted too quickly."

"There's something else you ought to admit."

Dick sighed. "I should have respected your boundaries?"

"That's damned right! I should be allowed to make my own decisions without some lovesick puppy following me around to make me feel guilty for not wrecking another person's life as badly as my own! This...thing is likely to be born with the same problem I have."

"Please, don't call him that."

"Oh, my God. It doesn't occur to you this baby could be a girl?"

A smile started to form on Dick's face.

"What the hell are you smiling about?"

"You just called it a baby instead of a parasite."

"I did not."

"You did."

His hand moved to the nape of her neck. Olivia tried to ignore how it made her tingle all over. His face came closer to hers until his lips touched hers. He kissed her passionately. Soon, he felt her starting to kiss back and led her inside, kicking the door shut behind him.

* * *

Dick felt Olivia start to move around. She was putting her clothes back on. He ran the back of his fingers along her spine.

She reached back and slapped his hand. "No, you don't."

He shifted to get closer to her, pulling himself up to kiss the back of her neck.

"Are you trying to lure me back into bed?" she demanded.

"I might be," he said, kissing her neck again. "My offer still stands. We won't have to get married right away. We could wait until the baby's born, if that's what you want."

"Stop seducing me. I do work, you know."

"You're avoiding answering me," he said.

"I still don't know you well enough to get married, Dick. What is there about that that you can't understand?"

"You can get to know me."


	4. Chapter 4

Dick dresses after Olivia has left for work. He plans to patrol as Nightwing to keep an eye on her.  
Olivia realizes Dick is following her. He's far too protective.

* * *

"How are you this evening?" the boss asks.

"Could be worse."

"I suppose."

* * *

Dick doesn't like Olivia's boss checking out her ass as she walks by, but Olivia either doesn't notice or doesn't let it get to her.

He quietly surveys the restaurant customers for suspicious characters and sees one. Slade Wilson, Deathstroke. But he appears to be simply a customer. He doesn't seem to pay any extra attention to Olivia, acting like she is only a waitress.

Dick tries to figure out if this is good or bad.  
Slade Wilson took a sip of coffee. What in the world was Grayson watching him for? He wasn't here for anything having to do with him...As far as he knew anyway.

A woman slipped into the seat in front of him. She gave the waitress her order.

When the waitress had walked away, Slade spoke. "Conducting a business contract in public is a risky procedure."

The woman smiled slightly. "They know me here. I have the owner in my pocket. It's how our waitress got her job."

"This means anything to me how...?"

"Over 20 years ago, you briefly participated in a scientific experiment."

"I was tricked!" Slade interrupted.

"Down boy. You weren't the only one my employers...used."

"I have a bone to pick with your employers, and believe me; I'm going to pick that bone if they ever get out of prison."

"They are out now. They're willing to provide...monetary compensation..."

"A contract."

"So to speak, Mr. Wilson. My job for the last 20 years has been to keep an eye on the girl. This is ever since my employers were sent to prison. Until recently, the girl was on a medication that...controlled a condition that was caused by my employers' experiments."

"You mean it controlled her nymphomania?"

"It's not exactly nymphomania. When her medication stopped working, she wasn't attracted to just any man. She was attracted to a man in a costume. I'm guessing he's the only one she's ever been attracted to. You're familiar with the man."

"Nightwing."

"Exactly. She got pregnant. She was going to abort the pregnancy, but he convinced her not to do it. It might have been for the better if he hadn't."

"Exactly what do your employers want?"

"Either for you to bring her to their new laboratory intact or, failing capture, induce a miscarriage. They'd also prefer if you brought Nightwing as well."

"I couldn't care less if they wanted to experiment on him, but I will not induce a miscarriage."

"You will have to bring her to the laboratory then."

"And what do they want her there for?"

"Simply to test the fetus to see if her disorder will pass on to it. They want Nightwing for...sperm donation."

"They're starting their experiments again, aren't they?"

The woman signaled for him to be quiet as their food came.

They spoke again once Olivia was out of earshot.

* * *

Nightwing frowned. This lady had to be hiring Deathstroke for something. Now he was worried that his reason for being in town did have something to do with Olivia. It was too hard to lip read their mouths, as they were at an angle that prevented him from lip reading.

Slade left the restaurant first. For a moment, he debated on whether to follow or to stay behind. It didn't take him long to decide. He had to be sure.

Slade smiled slightly as the costumed vigilante landed in front of him. This might make his job easier.

"What are you in town for?" Nightwing demands.

The smile on Slade's face widens as he suddenly kicks the other man in the face. "I understand you're going to be a daddy."

* * *

Nightwing blocked a punch from Slade. Then a kick. So, his being in town did have something to do with Olivia?

"What do you want with her?"

"I want nothing, Grayson. I'm doing this for they pay check." A grin spread over the assassin's face.

Nightwing realized something wasn't right.

"I'm being paid just to knock you out for transfer to a lab. You can't stop it. It's too late now."

The costumed vigilante looked down at his arm. He hadn't felt the needle sink in; he'd been so focused on fighting Slade.

"Lights out, Grayson."

Everything went black.

* * *

Olivia stopped and looked behind her. She'd heard something. "Dick?" When there was no response after a few seconds, she continued to walk home.

Suddenly, a hand clapped over her mouth. "Don't make a noise, and I won't have to knock you out."

* * *

Nightwing came to in a darkened room. His mask was gone, so he allowed his eyes to adjust. He could just make out a figure on a bed nearby.

When he tried to get up, he found that he'd been strapped down.

He uttered a curse word.

"Such foul language is not becoming of you," a woman said.

He seethed as a needle sank into the tender flesh of his testicles.

"My employers asked me to perform the extraction, but they didn't say a word about anesthetic."

He could hear the grin in the woman's voice. "You're the woman Slade Wilson met with, aren't you?"

"Very astute. I'll reward you with a dosage on anesthetic."

A needle slid into the flesh of his groin. Pain was soon taken over by numbness.

The woman turned to a tech behind her. "Complete the insemination process. I have further samples to obtain."

She turned back to her victim.

"Olivia Johns has very good taste in men, I must say. You have a VERY high sperm count."

"Either you work for the scientists that caused her medical condition or you're one of them," Nightwing said as a needle sank into his testicles again. He could only just feel the pressure.

"You are a very astute young man. I AM the one scientist the authorities could not lay their hands on."

"Bitch."

"Again with the foul language. I was employed in the original experiments because of my expertise in genetics. What I never told Slade Wilson is that I am in charge now. The experiments will go differently. There will be no forcing of male subjects upon the female subjects. That was a mistake. When this procedure is done, your costume will be returned to you, your memory of this incident will be erased and you will be dumped on the side of the road somewhere. Someplace beginning with..." She thought a moment. "B or maybe G."

Another curse word was uttered.

"Gag him," the woman instructed someone.

He fought the gag, but it went into place anyway.

"You shouldn't worry about Olivia's child. We've determined that her condition will not pass on to it. We'll even return her to her home with her memories wiped. She'll still adopt out the baby if she wishes, but the child will still come under my control."

A growl issued through the gag.

"I touched a nerve?"

* * *

Dick woke up in a hospital bed situated in the Batcave three days later. The last thing he could remember was leaving to follow Olivia to work. He could feel Alfred checking his pulse.

"Welcome to the world of the living, Master Richard."

"How...how did I get here?"

"Sergeant Bullock found you along the side of the road. Master Bruce brought you here as soon as Commissioner Gordon notified 'Batman.'"

Dick muttered to himself.

"I'm sure I wouldn't know where she is, Master Richard."

Dick looked at Alfred. Did he just ask where Olivia was out loud? "I was defending someone when I got koshed," he said, hoping it was a convincing enough lie.

Alfred nodded. He coughed slightly. "There are needle marks..." Another slight cough, "in your genital area, as well as an IV scar."

Ok, this explained why his balls were achy...

Thankfully, Alfred didn't ask any questions on the matter. He was, however, very curious how Dick had developed his amnesia.

"Perhaps you will remember sooner, rather than later."

"I hope so," Dick said. This had to be something to do with what had happened to Olivia years ago. It just had to.

* * *

"I know you don't do the information business anymore...Babs, I know! Just...can you look that up for me?" Dick said. "It's important."

Barbara Gordon sighed on the other end of the line. "Alright. Let me call you back when I get something. I have some other things I really need to do first." She paused. "I heard Bullock found you unconscious on the side of the road?"

Dick sighed. He'd gotten this from Tim also. "I guess he did?"

"And you really don't remember what happened to you?"

"I remember nothing."

Barbara made a tsking noise. "I'll see what I can hack. Try not to get kidnapped and virtually raped again."

* * *

Olivia watched Dick pace around his apartment. He'd shown up suddenly at her apartment, whisked her off to his. Now, he didn't want her to leave.

"I was told I called in sick," Olivia told him.

"Your memory was wiped. It had to have been, like mine was."

"You're suggesting that the scientists who made me what I am escaped from prison?"

"What else? You don't remember ever being sick and I woke up in a hospital bed with my memory gone and needle marks in my testicles!"

A little smile formed on Olivia face and then fell at the look on Dick's face. "I'm sorry, it's just that you said...never mind."

"You have a dirty mind, Olivia."

"When did you figure that out? Maybe it's a side-effect of the experiments."

"Don't look at me like that!" Dick suddenly exclaimed.

"Like what?"

"Like you're going to jump on me and have your way with me."

"So I'm expected to act like a whore all the time?"

"No! It's just...I'm sore. And I'm waiting on some information."

* * *

A/N: An extra-long chapter for y'all. Next one will be shorter though.


	5. Chapter 5

"Dick," Barbara said once Dick had answered the phone. "The scientists you asked me to look into escaped prison."

"When?"

"A few days ago. You...met one of their victims, didn't you?" When he didn't answer, she tried again. "Which one did you meet, Dick?"

"Is that your business?"

"Dick, there are at least three victims living in the area. Two of whom were permanently affected by the chemical aspects of the expiriments. I can name them off if you can't remember which one you went to bed with."

"Babs, please, don't-"

"Area victims: Olivia Johns, Faith McCoy, and Ryo Chen. That last one is the only one of the three who wasn't affected by the chemical aspects of the exipiriments. She was a late addition to the expiriments because the scientists thought it'd be interesting to expiriment on the children of a highly skilled assassin. The only reason why they're not dead is because it wasn't the childrens' mother who found the children. So, which one? Faith or Olivia?"

"Olivia," Dick finally mumbled.

"Good, Faith McCoy has five children."

* * *

"Get someone else," Slade said. "I'm not bringing anymore people for you to expiriment on."

"Well...Then it will be your fault if the wrong person brings any of the other former patients in, Mr. Wilson. There are plenty of people I could hire who wouldn't follow orders so well," the woman who had hired him to bring in Dick and Olivia said.

Slade folded his arms stubbornly. "I'm not bringing in any more people," he repeated. "I'm done with this. I only came for my money."

"And you'll have it. But only when I deem it proper."

"I could destroy your 'samples.' You wouldn't like that, would you."

"The embryos have already been formed. You would be killing children, Mr. Wilson."

"Nightwing's children. It's good enough for me." He reached for his sword.

"Some of those embryos may be your potential grandchildren."

He narrowed his eyes at her, judging whether or not she was being truthful.

"One of the women from the original expiriments bore your child."

Deathstroke continued to guage her mannerisms.

"Some of these embryos are from a woman who is your daughter. Trust me, I ran the DNA tests myself. She is who I say she is."

* * *

Three months later (This is about the point that Jason meets Ryo in my RHATO fic)

Dick watched Olivia sleep for a minute. He was going to have to wake her up sometime.

Everything seemed to be fine, but neither of them had recovered their lost memory.

Dick sighed. He gently fan his hand against her belly. Was it just him, or was she showing already? He was hoping to talk her into keeping the baby, but she was obstinate about the matter.

She stirred in her sleep. Dick quickly moved his hand away. He watched for signs that she'd woken up.

"Were you touching my stomach?" she asked, eyes still closed.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"I told you not to start getting attached to it. I'm not keeping it. I'm not mom material."

"I could take custody of the baby..." he tried.

"I already told you several times what my plans are."

"You never asked me what I thought about it," Dick complained.

"It's coming out of my body, Dick. So, do NOT try to change my mind. It won't change." She got up to use the bathroom.

"Do you have any idea how much that hurts me?" Dick demanded.

"I'm trying to take a pee!" she called out.

Dick sighed. "You do know I could take you to court to get custody, right?"

"You do that, and I won't be your lover any more."

The toilet flushed. The water ran.

Dick sighed again. If he did take her to court, Bruce would know for sure. The man had his suspicions.

Olivia came out of the bathroom with her hands still damp. "Costumed vigilantes don't need to be raising kids anyway."

"Batman raised me," Dick objected.

"And you became a costumed vigilante. Just like him. You really want a third generation vigilante in a decade and a half?"

"Olivia-"

"No. If I let you have custody, it's over between us. I'll move out of state if it comes to it."

Dick's eyes flared. "No."

"Believe me, I would."

"What'd I tell you? This isn't a real relationship. The baby might be something we made together, but I'm not attached. When are you gonna get that? I don't want the baby. And I don't want you to keep it. Stop trying to change my mind about it."

"Don't you have an ultrasound coming up?"

"You're ignoring me. You're not going to it because I won't have you finding out what the baby is. And I'm not going to find out at all any way. Because I'm not going to get attached to it."

* * *

"There's still no leads?" Dick asked Barbara.

"No, there aren't any actual leads. A few women in the same age bracket are missing, but none of them are the original victims. And there are absolutely no leads on the scientists. It's almost like they never existed."

Dick sighed.

"Maybe you could recover your memory with triggers."

"What?"

"Oh, come on. You know that sometimes key words trigger lost memories."

He thought a moment. "I didn't think of that..." he finally admitted.

"I have to think of everything, don't I? Just try it."

* * *

Dick pulled in a sharp breath. Ok, trigger words. He could do that. He spoke every word he'd ever heard of being used to trigger memories. Nothing.

"Shit!" he said. If Olivia hadn't gone to work, he could have tried the words on her.

His phone rang. He snatched it up. Maybe Barbara had a new lead. "Babs...?"

"I'm not your information broker," Olivia said into his ear.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Are you ok? Do you need something?"

"I remembered something."


	6. Chapter 6

Dick rushed to the restaurant. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he hadn't let her get anything else out before he was off.

"What did you remember?" he asked, hugging Olivia, despite the looks most of the customers gave him. His hands went to her belly protectively.

"Him," Olivia said, subtly indicating a customer sitting alone at a corner table. "The man with the eye patch." Dick glared daggers. "Just tell me what you want."

Dick glanced to the indicated table. Deathstroke... Now he remembered...

He took hold of Olivia's shoulders. "Stay where I can see you. Don't go anywhere." He went to Slade's table and sat on the opposite side.

Slade didn't look up. "I was wondering when you would show up, Grayson."

"You're here. Again. Why?"

"I decided to be nice to you for once."

Dick looked at the assassin skeptically.

"I was tricked, Grayson. Twice."

"Hmph, isn't that unprecedented for you?"

"You've been being tricked. Although, I imagine you remember now. You remember that the bitch wants to take the baby, don't you?"

Slade raised an eyebrow. "I would think you would figure that out, Grayson."

Dick continues to glare at the older man.

"Look, I don't want to do anything to your kid. Or it's mother. I'm telling you that the only way they're going to be safe from that maniacal bitch is if she's dead. And this is the only table that isn't bugged."

Dick straightened up. "One of the original subjects is your child, I suppose?"

Slade said nothing. He sipped his water.

Olivia was watched Slade like a hawk. Dick's eyes went to her, telling her to stay put.

"Move somewhere else," Slade said. "Find new names. You can't tell me you don't have the resources." He sipped his water again. "They want to turn your kid into a test subject. You know this. Lab rat." He sipped his water again. "I won't give you advice on this again."

"You think Olivia is your daughter, don't you?"

Slade said nothing. He got up from the table and dropped a bill onto the table.

"Slade. We're not done!"

Slade glared at the former Robin. "We're done, Grayson."

"No, we're not."

"We are. Say good-bye to your lovely lady for me." Slade walked out of the restaurant without another word.

* * *

"Dick," Olivia said. "Did he lie?"

"I don't think so." He put his hands on the side of her face, sighing. "You need to get as far away as you can... We need to," he corrected himself without thinking.

"Dick, we're not..."

"Not what?" he asked.

"Dating. We were just lovers."

"Were?" Dick asked in confusion. They were lovers now. And he wanted to be so much more than just Olivia's lover.

"We're not meant to be. A person like HIM coming around proves it. We're over."

Dick frowned. "What? I don't get it. Why?"

"Because of him and that woman. You're a very attractive and very distinctive man. Wherever you went, you'd be recognized. I'm..."

"The most beautiful woman on the planet," Dick said.

"No. I'm...plain."

"You're not. Trust me; I dated a very attractive woman for years."

"She was an alien. I'm not."

Dick took her face in his hands. "You haven't seen yourself through my eyes. Trust me; you ARE the most beautiful woman in existence."

"Don't try to flatter me, Dick. I have to get out of town. And you need to stay in town.

* * *

"Dick growled and kicked the bed. Olivia had packed up and left while he was sleeping. Babs couldn't find her so far either.

"I'm working on it!" Babs said. "It might take some time though. Your lover is good at covering her tracks. Finding her is going to take some doing." She sighed. "I cannot BELIEVE I'm helping my ex find his wayward girlfriend..." she muttered.

"I can't believe I'm asking my ex-girlfriend to help me either!" Dick snapped. He ended the connection and threw down the phone.

How the hell did he let himself fall asleep?

* * *

Barbara looked at her phone, wondering if Dick realized she was out of the information brokering line of work.

"Bitchy much, Dick?" she muttered.

* * *

"Dick, Barbara tells me you have a problem," Bruce said.

"I don't have a problem, Bruce," Dick told him. "And she had no right telling you I did!"

Bruce's eyes narrowed, studying his son. He decided Dick would tell him when he was ready. He made as if to leave. "Oh, by the way, Jason is engaged. He's getting married in four months. Just thought you might like to know."

This took Dick aback. "What?" he demanded. "Jason's getting married?!"

But Bruce was already gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Roughly four months later (about the time that Jason gets married)

"Dick, I think I found her," Barbara said.

"How the hell does it take so long to find ONE pregnant woman?" Dick shouted into the phone.

Barbara held the phone away from her ear as obscenities flowed out. When she was sure he was finished, she put the phone next to her ear again. "She's in a top secret facility, so she was clearly caught at some point. You'll need help extracting her though. Their security is very tight. The woman running the show managed to convince everyone she's containing metahumans."

Obscenities issued forth again.

"Maybe if you're nice and ask correctly, you could get Jason to help you," Barbara ventured.

"Jason wouldn't help," Dick said.

"I don't know about that... His bride has somewhat of a history with mad scientists."

"Don't call her that. Jason will never go through with it. He lacks the commitment for any long term relationships."

"Just like someone else I know..."

"What does that mean?!" Dick demanded.

"What do you think it mean?" Barbara asked. "How many failed engagements have you had?"

"Babs..."

"Seriously, Dick. You couldn't even get the mother of your child to accept a proposal and she didn't even know your history."

Dick hung the phone up on Barbara.

She looked at the phone. "My God, Dick...it's time for you to take some Midol."

* * *

"Damn it, Jason! I'm only trying to talk to you!" Dick shouted.

"It's my honeymoon, dickwad," Jason growled as he began to attack Dick.

Ryo sat up in bed with the sheets around her and looked at her fingernails. "Men."

"You came here armed!" Jason snarled at Dick as he began to protest.

* * *

After Bruce has broken up the fight and made Dick leave...

"I said talk," Bruce grunted in Dick's direction.

Dick was silent.

"Does your attack on Jason have anything to do with this problem Barbara tells me you have?"

"What?! Jason attacked me!" Dick protested.

"You interrupted his honeymoon. As I understand it, you literally told him-"

"I told you, Bruce. Being the Red Hood puts them in danger!"

Dick was surprised by a batarang landing close to his face.

"This isn't about Jason!" Bruce barked. "This is about you! Talk. Now."

"...It's a family issue..."

"And I'm not your family? Or Tim? Or even Alfred?"

* * *

Dick winced as he checked his injuries a while later. Jason had really done a number on him.

Because of his own stupidity, he had to come clean to Bruce about everything. As it turned out, when he'd hung up on Barbara, she'd been nearly ready to give him the location of the facility she thought Olivia was being held in. Because he hung up on him, she gave the information to Bruce.

He'd pretty much been tricked into telling the man everything.

"Stupid," he mumbled. "I'm so fucking stupid!"

* * *

When he decided to apologize to Jason, it turned out the former Robin had returned to his island home with his new wife. Jason had been reluctant to talk to him, but he eventually accepted his apology. With some reluctance.

He'd just started to explain about Olivia when Roy came in and grabbed the phone from Jason. But it was actually Ryo who talked Jason into helping him, so here he was on the Crux with Jason and Roy. Apparently, Kori had chosen to stay home with Ryo. He didn't blame her.

"So let me get this straight," Roy said. "She's gonna have this baby any day now?"

"She's only thirty-four weeks, Roy. She has six more weeks," Dick said.

"So any day now."

Dick sighed. Sometimes Roy could be a dunce.

Jason smacked Roy. "He said six WEEKS, not six days!"

"What? Even I know babies like to come early!" Roy complained. "Save your bitch slaps for when we get to where we're going, ok?"

Jason appeared to think about this for a moment before hitting Roy again.

Dick sighed and put his face into his palm.

* * *

"I'm NOT the one who fired that shot!" Jason told Dick.

Dick glared at Jason. He knew how much his brother loved guns.

"He's telling the truth," Roy said. "The shot came from behind us."

Dick frowned, examining the only vantage point an unseen person could fire shots from. "In order for someone to fire a shot of any sort from there, they would have to be a child. Or a very slender woman."

Jason studied the ventilation shaft. "Well, hello Mommie Dearest."

"Shut up," a woman said from inside the ventilation shaft. "I have people to kill. And I am not my employer."

"Well then, hello Maiden Marian."

Roy snickered.

"Tell your friend to stop making fun of my parents love of literature, or I'll put a bullet in his brain," she told Jason.

"Jason, we're not just going to let your mother-in-law kill people here!" Dick said.

"You want to climb into a ventilator shaft after Marian, be my guest," Jason said. "I think that's the only way you're gonna keep more people from getting killed. She has to report to her boss you know."

"Yes. Your Yakuza mother-in-law. I know. Still..."

"You want to rescue your lady love or not?" Marian demanded from inside the ventilator shaft. "Go find her and get the hell out."

Roy grabbed Dick by the arm and dragged him along as he began to protest. "We oughta find your lady. Just like Maiden Marian says."

* * *

A/N: The ventilator shaft Marian is hiding in is not close to the ground, but is closer to the ceiling, thus explaining how she was able to shoot the way she did.


End file.
